Smoke ring producing toy gun



' Oct. 14, 1958 w. J. THOMAS ,855,

.' suoKE RING PRODUCING TOY Gun Filed Oct. 17. 1955 INV EN TOR.

United States Patent SMOKE RING PRODUCING TOY GUN William J. Thomas,Montebello, Calif. Application October 17, 1955, Serial No. 540,680

s Claims. (21. 42-57 This invention relates generally to toys and moreparticularly to a toy gun for producing smoke rings.

A primary object of the invention is the provision of a toy gun whereinsmoke generated by the detonation of percussive caps within the guncasing may be ejected from the latter as smoke rings.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a toy gun of theclass described wherein the caps are detonated within the gun casing andthe smoke of the exploded caps is ejected from the casing in response tothe actuation of exterior operating means.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a toy gun ofthe class described wherein the smoke ejecting means is operativelyconnected to the hammer of the cap firing mechanism for simultaneousoperation thereof by depression of the trigger of the mechanism.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a toy gun of theclass described which may be selectively operated to eject the smoke ofpreviously detonated caps to produce a smoke ring or to simultaneouslydetonate a cap and produce a smoke ring.

Yet a further object of the invention is the provision of a toy gun ofthe class described embodying smoke ejecting means which is operative toseal off the interior of the gun casing from the smoke ring producingorifice after a smoke ring has been formed so as to preclude the escapeof remaining smoke through the orifice.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a toy gun ofthe class described which is simple in construction, relativelyinexpensive to manufacture, and pleasing in appearance.

A better understanding of'the invention may be had from the followingdetailed description thereof taken in conjunction with the annexeddrawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a preferred embodiment ofthe present toy gun; I

Figure 2 is a section taken along line -22 of Figure 1; Figure 3 is alongitudinal sectional view of a modified form of a toy gun embodyingthe principles of this invention;

Figure 4 is a section taken along line 4-4 of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is a side elevation, in reduced scale, the gun illustrated inFigure 1..

Referring now to these drawings, and more particularly to Figure 1thereof, the preferred form of the present toy gun comprises a hollowcasing of plastic or other suitable material. Casing 10 is formed toprovide a depending hand grip 11 from the forward edge of which extendsa trigger guard 12 defined with the casing 10 and hand grip 11 afinger-receiving opening 13.

The under side of casing 10 is slotted at 14, in communication with thefinger-receiving opening 13, for receiving the trigger 15 of a capfiring mechanism, generally Patent No. 2,085,412, dated June 29, 1937,and entitled, Repeating Toy Pistol. This illustrated mechanism comprisesa trigger plate 17 which is pivoted at 18 between the side walls ofcasing 10 and on which is formed the trigger 15. Rearward depression ofthe trigger 15 operates, in the manner described in the aforementionedpatent, to advance a strip of caps, of the percussive type, from asupply roll 20, past an anvil 21 fixed to the casing 10, and to operatea hammer 22 into impact with the anvil 21 to explode, one of the caps inthe strip 19. The hammer 22 is carried intermediate the'ends of an arm23 which is pivoted between the side walls of hand grip 11 about an axis24.

The other end of lever 23 is connected by a pin and slOt connection 25to the rear end of a rod 26 which mounts a disk-shaped plunger head 27at its forward end. Casing 10 is partitioned into a forward compartmentor chamber 28 and an after compartment or chamber 29 by the plunger head27. An intermediate transverse wall 30 of the casing is centrallyapertured at 31 for sli'dably receiving the forward end of the rod 26.The after end of rod 26 is slidably guided in a lateral extension'32 ofthe casing 10 so that the rod 26 and plunger head 27 are mounted foraxial sliding movement in the casing.

The forward end of the casing is defined by an etilarged conical wallportion 33 which is joined with the rear Wall portion of the casing by aconical wall 34 whose outer surface is annularly stepped, as indicatedat 35, to lend a futuristic appearance to the gun. Forward chamber 28 iscommunicated with the after chamber 29 by a series of annularly arrangedapertures 36 in the transverse wall 30.

The smaller diameter of conical wall portion 33 is at the forward endthereof and the latter wall portion is continued at its forward end in aconical wall portion 37 of increased angularity defining a relativelythin edged, circular orifice 38. It will be obvious that the expressionthin-edged, as used herein, refers to the small axial dimension or edgethickness of the orifice, as,

compared to the diameter of the orifice. The external surface of conicalWall portion 37 may be annularly stepped, as indicated, at 39 for thesame reasons set forth with reference to conical Wall 34.

The diameter of plunger head 27 is somewhat less than the largerdiameter of conical wall 33 so that when the plunger head is in itsretracted position, illustrated in solid lines in Figure 1, theperiphery of said head will be radially spaced somewhat from the wall33. The diameterof the head 27 is, however, somewhat less than theforward diameter of the conical wall 33 so that when the plunger head'27 is in its normal forward position, illustrated in phantom lines, inFigure l, the periphery of the head will sealing ly engage the conicalwall 33.

To permit the loading of caps into the gun, the after end of the casing10 and hand grip 11 may have a portion of their side wall cut away toprovide a side opening 40 indicated in dotted lines in Figure 5, whichopening is sealed by a removable closure 41. Closure 41 may be retainedin position on the casing 10 as, for example, by being formed withdetents 42 which snap over the cover 41 when the latter is pressedagainst the casing. To improve the realistic appearance of the presentgun, the latter may, if desired, be formed of a pair of sights 43 and44.

In the operation of the gun of Figure 1, trigger 15 is depressed tocause, in the same manner described in said 22 into impact with theanvil 21 to fire the alined one of the caps inthe cap strip 19. Thisrearward and forward movement of the lever 23 is transmitted to theshaft 26 and plunger head 27 through the pin and slot connection 25 sothat the plunger head 27 will be moved from its normal, phantom lineposition in Figure 1 to its retracted solid line position and, uponrelease of the lever 23, will return to its phantom line position.Trigger 15 is thus actuated one or more times in rapid succession,depending on the amount of smoke generated by the firing of each cap, toprovide an accumulation of smoke within the after chamber 29. A portionof this smoke is displaced by rearward movement of plunger disk 27 andflows, through the apertures 36 in the transverse wall 30, into theforward chamber 28 between the conical wall 33 and the edge of disk 27when the latter is in its retracted position. As the disk 27 is returnedto its normal position, upon movement of the hammer 22 into impact withthe anvil 21, the smoke which has passed to the forward side of the disk27 is expelled by the latter, during its forward movement, through theorifice 38 to form a smoke ring R.

The mechanics of forming smoke rings are well understood and areexplained in numerous texts on physics and fluid dynamics. The manner inwhich smoke rings are formed by the present toy gun may be brieflyexplained as follows. Sudden forward movement of the disc or plungerinitially compresses the smoke immediately in front of the plunger andproduces a Wave front which moves toward the orifice. Upon the wavefront reaching the orifice, the new compressed smoke in the casingissues through the orifice in the forming of a puff. The forward surfaceseparating the moving mass of compressed smoke behind the wave frontfrom the relatively still smoke and/or air ahead of the wave front iscommonly referred to as the surface of discontinu ity. When thissurfaceof discontinuity reachesthe orifice, it is, in eifect, rolled upby the circular edge thereof to form a vortex ring which is propagatedoutwardly through the orificeto form a smoke ring.

The caps for use in the present gun may be of the type commonly employedin toy cap guns ormay be of the caps in strip 65. Indicated at 71, is aleaf spring fixed at its forward end to the rod 60 and having its afterend bent laterally outwardfromthe rod. This leaf spring 71 is adapted,upon the above described rearward operation of the rod 60, tofrictionally engage the cap strip 65 to feed the latterpast the anvil 64and aline the next following one of the caps in the strip 65. with thehammer 63 for detonation thereof upon subsequent release of the rod 60.A second leaf spring 72, fixed to a projection 73 on the inner wall ofthe after casingportion 51, frictionally bears on the cap strip 65, atan acute angle thereto, to

prevent reverse feeding of the cap strip 65 during forward movement ofthe rod 61 to its normal position under the action of spring 70.

Rod 60, adjacent the leaf spring 71, is formed with a semi-circular,laterally projecting shoulder 74 for coaction with'a trigger mechanism75 to retain the rod 60 in its rearward, phantom line position againstthe action of spring 70. Trigger mechanism 75 comprises a generallyL-shaped trigger plate 76 including a trigger portion 77 which projectsthrough a slot 78 in the after casing portion 51into the fingerreceiving opening 79 defined by the trigger guard 57. The inner end oftrigger plate 76 is formed with a projection 80 adapted to engage theforward face of shoulder 74 to retain the rod 60 in said rearwardposition. Trigger plate 75 is resiliently biased to its shoulderengaging position by a coil spring 81.

In the operation of the modified form of gun shown in Figure 3, thelatter is cocked by retracting the rod 60 and plunger head 61 againstthe action of coil spring 70, in the manner heretofore described, theshoulder 74 riding over i the projection 80 on the trigger mechanism 75and engagcomprised of anyone of numerous well knowntimpact detonatedexplosive mixtures capable of generating a substantialquantity, of smokeon fin'ng thereof.

The modified gun of Figure 3 comprises a casing including a cylindricalafter portion 51, defining an after chamber 52, and an enlarged conicalforward portion 53, defining a forward chamber 54; The forward wall ofconical portion 53 forms an orifice 55 similar to the orifice 38 in thegun of Figure 1. The after end of easing portion 51 is formed toprovidea hand grip 56 and a trigger guard 57. t

Slidably and rotatably mounted in central apertures in a transverse wall58, between after chamber 52 and forward chamber 54, and in an end wall59 of the casing portion 51, is a rod 60 which mounts at its forwardend, within the forward chamber 54, a disk-shaped plunger head 61 and atits after end, externally of the casing 50, with a knob 62. Wall 58 isapertured at 58'.

Fixed to an intermediate point of the rod 60, within the after chamber52, is a laterally projecting hammer 63 which cooperates with an anvil64, fixed to the after casing portion 51, to fire the caps in a capstrip 65 which is fed from a supply roll 66 around the underside of theanvil 64, between the latter and the hammer 63, and out through an exitslot 67 in the gun casing. Roll 66 is mounted on a pin 69 fixed to theafter casing portion 51. Hammer 63 is. resiliently biased toward theanvil 64 by a coil compression spring 70 abutting at ing the after faceof said production so that the plunger assembly 60, 61 will be retainedin its retracted position. Upon depression of the trigger 77 toward thehand grip 56, the projection will be moved out of the path of theshoulder 74, and the plunger assembly will be moved forwardly under theaction of spring 70. Hammer 63 will, thereby, be moved into impactwiththe anvil 64 to fire one of the" caps in strip 65 to produce a quantityof smoke within the after chamber 52. After a sufficient number of capshave thus been fired, the smoke produced thereby will flow through theapertures 58' in the transverse wall 58, around the disk-shaped plungerhead 61, between it and the conical wall of the forward chamber 54, andwill be expelled through the forward orifice 55 upon forward movement ofthe plunger head 61, in the manner described with reference to Figure 1.r

The rotatable mounting of rod 60 and plunger head 61 in the casing 50permits the rod 60to be rotated degrees from the position illustrated inFigure 3 to a position wherein the hammer 63 and cap strip advancingspring 71 are disposed out of the path of the cap strip 65 and anvil 64so that only the plunger assembly 60, 61 may be operated in the mannerabovedescribed, to permit the expelling of smoke from the gun to formsmoke rings without the firing of caps. In this latter position of therod 60 the shoulder 74 will remain in operative relationship to thetrigger mechanism 75, as indicated in phantom lines in Figure 4, owingto its semi-circular extent and knob 62 limits forward movement of theplunger assembly.

Casing 50 of the modified form of the gun in Figure 3 may be constructedon a pair of half-shells in the'same manner as the gun of Figure 1.opening, not shown, will be provided in the casing 50 to permit loadingof a roll 66 of caps onto the pin 69.

While certain preferred forms of the present invention have beendescribed and illustrated, they are all illustra- Also, a suitableaccess tive in nature only, it being apparent that numerousmodifications in design and arrangement of parts may be made within thescope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A toy gun comprising: a hollow casing, a plunger in said casing, saidplunger separating the interior of said easing into first and secondcompartments located at opposite sides of the plunger, means mountingsaid plunger on the casing for movement of the plunger to a firstlimiting position in one direction to increase the volume of said firstcompartment and decrease the volume of said second compartment and formovement of the plunger to a second limiting position in the oppositedirection to increase the volume of said second compartmentand decreasethe volume of said first compartment, the wall of said casing having arelatively thin edged orifice opening into said first compartment, theedge thickness of said orifice measured in the axial direction of theorifice being small in comparison to the orifice diameter, cap firingmeans in said second compartment for exploding caps in the lattercompartment to generate smoke therein, there being a passagecommunicating said compartments through which smoke in said secondcompartment may flow into said first compartment when the plunger ismoved to said first limiting position, said plunger being movable fromsaid first limiting position to said second limiting position to expella puff of smoke from said first compartment through said orifice, theedge of the orifice forming the smoke issuing therethrough into a smokering, and means for operating said plunger and cap firing meansexteriorly of said casing.

2. The subject matter of claim 1 wherein said passage is between saidplunger and casing and the wall of said casing has an internally reducedportion for sealingly engaging said plunger'when the latter is in saidsecond limiting position whereby to seal oif said second compartmentfrom said first compartment.

3. The subject matter of claim 1 wherein said cap firing means includesan anvil on said casing, a hammer on said plunger, and means for feedinga strip ,of caps between said hammer and anvil in response to movementof said plunger to said first limiting position, said hammer beingmovable into impact with said anvil to explode a cap upon movement ofthe plunger to said second limiting position, a spring for urging saidplunger toward said second limiting position, and said operating meansincluding a handle fixed to said plunger and located exteriorly of saidcasing by which the plunger may be retracted to said first limitingposition against the action of said spring.

4. The subject matter of claim 3 wherein said firstmentioned meanscomprises means journaling said plunger on the casing for rotation ofsaid plunger relative to said casing to selectively misalign said hammerand anvil whereby said hammer will not strike said anvil when theplunger moves to said second limiting position, said handle being rigidon said plunger to permit turning of the latter by the handle toselectively align and misalign said hammer and anvil.

5. The subject matter of claim 1 wherein said cap firing means includesan anvil on said casing, a hammer on said plunger, and means for feedinga strip of caps between said hammer and anvil in response to movement ofsaid plunger to said first limiting position, said hammer being movableinto impact with said anvil to explode a cap upon movement of theplunger to said second limiting position, a spring for urging saidplunger toward said second limiting position, and said operating meansincluding a handle fixed to said plunger and located exteriorly of saidcasing by which the plunger may be retracted to said first limitingposition against the action of said spring, and means including atrigger extending to the exterior of said casing for releasablyretaining said plunger in said first limiting position.

6. The subject matter of claim 1 wherein said cap firing means includesan anvil on said casing, a hammer supported on said casing for movementtoward and away from the anvil, and said operating means comprisingmeans including a trigger extending to the exterior of the casing forretracting said hammer a given distance away from the anvil and thenreleasing the hammer, a connection between said hammer and plungerwhereby the latter is moved to said first limiting position when thehammer is retracted, and spring means for urging the hammer toward theanvil and said plunger toward said second limiting position when saidhammer is released.

7. A toy gun comprising: a hollow elongate casing having forward andrear end walls and a side wall defining a relatively closed chamber,said forward end wall having a relatively thin-edged orifice, the edgethickness of said orifice measured in the axial direction of the orificebeing small in comparison to the orifice diameter, a plunger in saidchamber including a plunger head disposed in a transverse plane of thecasing, means mounting said plunger on the casing for movement of saidplunger head lengthwise of the casing toward and away from said orificebetween forward and rear limiting positions, said plunger headseparating said chamber into front and rear compartments, cap firingmeans in said rear compartment for exploding caps to generate smoke inthe latter compartment, there being a passage communicating saidcompartments through which smoke may flow from said rear compartment tosaid front compartment when the plunger is moved to said rear limitingposition, said plunger being movable from said rear limiting position tosaid forward limiting position to expell a pufi? of smoke from the frontcompartment through said orifice to form a smoke ring, and means foroperating said plunger and cap firing means exteriorly of said casing. v

8. The subject matter of claim 7 wherein the portion of the side wall ofsaid casing between said limiting positions tapers inwardly toward saidforward limiting position, said side wall portion and plunger head beingspaced to form said passage therebetween when said plunger is in otherthan said forward limiting position, and said side wall portion beingtapered to sealingly engage said plunger head when the latter is in saidforward limiting position to seal ofl? said rear compartment from saidforward compartment.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,061,471 Larson Nov. 17, 1936 2,446,698 Fujiwara Aug. 10, 19482,457,921 Riederich Jan. 4, 1949 2,561,849 Everett July 24, 19512,628,450 Shelton Feb. 17, 1953

